Babolat and Wimbledon expand their partnership

Lyon (France), London, SW19 (UK) — Babolat becomes Wimbledon’s official licensee of tennis racquets, bags and accessories as of January 1, 2014. The specialized brand, which already offers the official shoe for The Championships, has thus strengthened the two brands’ joint offering, which focuses on innovation, boldness and elegance with a British twist.

“Wimbledon is a legendary reference. Wimbledon and Babolat are intrinsically linked to both the origins of tennis, and also to its future, thanks to their tradition of ongoing innovation. Our shared ambition is to combine the best of our values and experience to foster the spirit of tennis all year long and all around the world for all types of tennis players,” says Eric Babolat, Chairman and CEO of Babolat.

“We are delighted to be extending our relationship with Babolat from shoes to racquets and bags. We have already witnessed the success of the new Wimbledon-branded Babolat tennis shoe which has proved very popular with the Ball Boys and Ball Girls on court. We have been impressed by the care and attention that Babolat has paid to all aspects of product development and design and we look forward to working with the team from Babolat well into the future,” says Mick Desmond, Commercial Director, The All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Thanks to this new partnership with The Championships, Wimbledon, Babolat, already the official stringer, and official suppliers of racquets, balls and accessories for the French Open at Roland-Garros, will reinforce its association with the best the tennis world has to offer: prime Grand Slam events and top professional players, such as Nadal, Tsonga, Janowicz, Li, Stosur and Radwanska.

About Babolat

Created in 1875, in Lyon, France, Babolat is the longest-running international company specialized in tennis. Today, Babolat is number 1 in tennis racquet sales in the United States, Japan, France, Spain, and Italy. Family-run for five generations, Babolat is an innovative brand in the tennis sector providing complete equipment for tennis players: racquets, strings, shoes, balls, bags, apparel and accessories. Babolat equips numerous tennis players with racquets and strings including Rafael Nadal (SPA), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA), Li Na (CHN), Sam Stosur (AUS), Agnieska Radwanska (POL), Kim Clijsters (BEL), Andy Roddick (USA) and Nadia Petrova (RUS) (these last two also play with Babolat tennis shoes).